• LeBron James (ankle) will miss Thursday’s Lakers vs Warriors game, while Anthony Davis (Achilles) is listed as probable
• Both teams won six of seven before the All-Star break
• See the Los Angeles Lakers vs Golden State Warriors odds, player props, and predictions on Thursday, Feb. 22

Two teams that entered the All-Star break playing arguably their best basketball of the season look to pick up where they left off on Thursday night when the Los Angeles Lakers (30-26, 11-17 away, 27-30 ATS) visit the Golden State Warriors (27-26, 14-14 home, 28-24-1 ATS) at the Chase Center in San Francisco (7:10 pm PT/10:10 pm ET).

Unfortunately for the Lakers, they’ll have to try to extend their current three-game win streak minus LeBron James. The LeBron out – and the Lakers generally struggling away from home – the Warriors are positioned as sizable favorites on Thursday night.

Los Angeles Lakers vs Golden State Warriors Odds

Thursday’s NBA odds list Golden State as a six-point home favorite and -230 on the moneyline. The Lakers come back at +190 to extend their win streak to four. The game total (242) is the third-highest on the board among the NBA’s 12-game Thursday slate.

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Odds as of Feb. 22 at DraftKings. Claim a DraftKings Sportsbook promo or see the latest on the DraftKings app in North Carolina if you reside in NC.

The Lakers currently occupy the #9 seed in the West in the NBA playoff bracket, 1.5 games up on the #10 Warriors. If the postseason started today, they would square off in the 9-vs-10 Play-In Game, with the winner moving onto face the loser of the 7-vs-8 game for the final berth in round one.

Warriors Send Klay to the Bench … and It Works

In the final game before the break, head coach Steve Kerr had Klay Thompson come off the bench for the first time since he was a rookie. The results were exceptional if you’re a Warriors fan. Klay scored a season-high 35 points in just 28 minutes during in a 140-137 road win at Utah. He shot 13-of-22 from the field including 7-of-13 from three while also grabbing six rebounds and dishing out two assists.

Klay’s performance was crucial during an off night from Steph Curry, shooting-wise, who scored just 16 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field. Steph was excellent playing more a distribution role, though, finishing with season-best 10 assists.

The win against the Jazz made it six of seven for the Warriors before the break, which allowed them to both overtake the Jazz for the #10 seed and climb back above .500 for the season. Despite Curry and Thompson getting on in years (35 and 34, respectively), Golden State’s offense is still among the top ten in O-Rating (117.9, seventh). Their defense is just 20th (116.6) but has been steadily climbing since Draymond Green returned from suspension.

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Lakers Tread Water Without LeBron

The Los Angeles roster has shown tremendous resilience this season when forced to play without LeBron James. The team is actually over .500 (4-3) in the seven games James has missed, including a win at league-leading and full-strength Boston (when Anthony Davis was out as well) back on Feb. 1. James also missed LA’s most-recent game, a 138-122 rout of the Jazz in Utah.

The win over the Jazz was the Lakers sixth in seven games and third in a row, with all three coming by at least 14 points.

Unlike the Warriors, the Lakers have been a little better at the defensive end than on offense this season: LA is currently 15th in Defensive Rating (114.7) and just 18th on offense (114.5). That mirrors last season when they finished 19th on offense and 12th on defense.

LAL vs GSW Player Props

Player props from the DraftKings app.

Curry is listed with the highest point total at 30.5, well above his season average of 28.0 PPG. With LeBron out, Davis is the highest Laker at 28.5, which is also well above his season average (24.9 PPG). Davis also has a monstrous rebound total of 14.5, which is more than two rebounds higher than his season average of 12.2 RPG.

Lakers vs Warriors Prediction

The Warriors have been a decent bet against the spread this season (28-24-1 ATS) unlike the Lakers, who are three games under .500 against the number. While LA has shown a lot of heart without LeBron in the lineup, I don’t expect the results to stay positive. He is too integral to what his team does at both ends of the court.

In light of Golden State’s penchant for lackluster fourth quarters this year (which makes sense given the aging roster), I am going to back the Warriors but only in the first half.

LAL vs GSW pick: Warriors first-half -3.5 (-112)

Sascha Paruk’s 2023-24 NBA betting record:

• 17-19 moneyline (+6.06 units)
• 11-10-2 ATS (+0.24 units)
• 7-12 player props (-5.82 units)
• 0-3 same-game parlay (-3.00 units)

All wagers one unit unless expressly stated otherwise. 

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